This invention relates to bearing guards. More particularly, this invention relates to the guarding of the bearings of an exposed rotating conveyor shaft which may be found on a multitude of agricultural machines, which may be subject to entanglement by vegetation and/or waste.
Conveyor assemblies are used in many agricultural applications. For instance, conveyors are used in harvesting with combines, drying product through the use of a windrow apparatus or applying fertilizer with manure spreaders. Mechanical breakdowns can cause severe economic damage to the farmer if the equipment failure delays planting or the harvest, for instance.
A common problem found with conveyor failures in agricultural settings involves the entanglement of vegetation, or waste around the conveyor roller shafts. Weeds, stalks and the like from the crop being harvested or strings or other waste present with the material become wrapped around the shaft at the exposed portion adjacent to the shaft bearing housing. Rotation of the shaft is slowed due to build-up of the additional material and in some instances the entangled material works into the bearing housing and pushes out the lubricant or in some cases displaces the bearings. The result is premature wear and/or failure of the bearings and down time for the equipment while repairs are conducted.
In order to significantly increase the operational life of the conveyor shaft bearings on agricultural apparatus, a structure is needed to prevent the build-up of foreign material on the conveyor shaft. The structure must provide a shield which will prevent weeds, stalks, strings and the like from becoming wrapped around the shaft at the space intermediate the conveyor cylinder and the opposing face of the bearing housing. The structure must also be designed to accommodate passage of the conveyor shaft, such opening is spaced apart from, but is generally dimensioned to the outer surface of the shaft. Further the structure placement must not interfere with the performance of the conveyor.
The anti-wrap guard of the present invention substantially meets the aforementioned needs of the agricultural industry. The guard is designed to fit between the end of the conveyor roller and the opposing face of the bearing housing. This positioning protects the conveyor bearings from weeds, stalks, debris and the like which would otherwise become lodged or wrapped around the exposed portion of the conveyor shaft. The anti-wrap guard mount is attached to the frame of the agricultural apparatus through slots which allow for one degree of motional freedom so that the guard placement may be adjusted so as to be as close as possible to the conveyor roller. Further, the guard diameter need not be closely dimensioned to that of the conveyor shaft in order that foreign material does not work under the guard to impede the rotation of the shaft. The guard allows the conveyor shaft to rotate without restrictions thus protecting the normal life span of the bearings.
The present invention is particularly adaptable to attachment to many different agricultural apparatus. An embodiment of the guard mount fits under the bearing housing on each end of the conveyor and thus can be mounted to the frame of the apparatus coincident with the bearing housing. No modification to the agricultural apparatus is needed for mounting the guard.
The present invention is an anti-wrap guard system for shielding an exposed bearing assembly of an agricultural apparatus from any material borne by a rotatable shaft that in the course of operating the apparatus may naturally come in contact with the exposed bearing, including a guard being disposable between a working section of the rotatable shaft and the bearing assembly supporting the shaft, the guard substantially blocking the material from the bearing. The present invention is further a windrow merger and a method of guarding.